Teme
by Airotia
Summary: Ino forces Sasuke to see the err of his ways when he tries to leave Konoha. Underlying onesided InoxSaku and underlying SasuxNaru, if you think of it like that.


**Teme…**

Ino had seen all of it. Sakura practically throwing herself—her body, her mind, and her soul—at Sasuke… and Sasuke coldly rejecting her, as if she were nothing but dirt beneath his toes. He was even _crude_ enough to say "Thank you, Sakura," giving her a second of hope before knocking her out.

As he went to leave the village, Ino jumped in front of her. She was leaking killer intent, her glare giving off easily that, at that moment, she wanted to strangle him.

"How could you?" she asked ominously, her voice barely above that of a whisper.

Sasuke simply stared at her, expecting an explosion from her at any moment, as the quote "Calm before the storm" was coming to his mind.

"How **could** you? You… you've always treated her like trash. You treated _anyone_ who wanted to get close to you like trash. And… and yet… you're such a spoiled brat that you don't understand how amazing it is when someone is willing to _throw_ themselves at you. _Everyone_ knows you have problems. Reality check! We all have them. But… but… you… teme…" she finished pathetically.

"Is this your way of trying to get me to go back to Konoha?" he asked darkly.

"No. This is my way of offering you a way to repay your sins. You don't deserve her. Sometimes, yes, she is annoying. She's overly loud and a smart-ass know-it-all with a humongous forehead. But that doesn't give you a right to treat her like an _animal_. She genuinely cares for you. Do you think that… whomever you're going to… does? I really doubt it. Stay here in Konoha, and actually open your fucking eyes. Maybe if you look deeper, you can finally realize who cares for you and who doesn't. Power means nothing when you're around people who would just as soon teach you as kill you. I don't really give a damn, but… But the one I do care about does. Naruto also cares for you, teme. Stay and pay back for your sins, and maybe _earn_ the power instead of just getting it," Ino commanded him darkly. "Or not. I couldn't care less," she hissed as she passed him and gingerly picked up Sakura.

Ino began to run full-speed back towards Konoha, Sakura in her arms, towards her home. When she got there, she ignored the looks from her father and mother, and simply walked to her room to place Sakura gently on her bed. Ino quickly smoothed her hair down and covered her up with blankets before going to the family's closet and taking out a comforter to sleep on. She laid out the blanket and then leaned over Sakura and whispered, "He doesn't deserve you, Saku," before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, knowing full well that Sakura wouldn't wake up for a few more hours.

----

Not long after Ino had fallen asleep, a knock came at the Yamanaka's door. Ino's mother, with a small groan, opened it to reveal Sasuke.

"I know it's late, but… Could you tell Ino Sasuke said, 'Thanks?'" he asked nervously.

Ino's mother nodded slowly, slightly surprised he had come to their house. After she nodded, Sasuke waved and left.

"Strange boy…" she muttered to herself before going back to bed as well.

----

Sasuke traveled down the road, headed somewhere, but not quite knowing where. When he was finally brought out of his thoughts, he realized he was in the vicinity of Naruto's apartment. He quickly glanced through the apartments before finally locating Naruto, who was currently brushing his teeth in his ramshackle apartment. Sasuke made his way to the door and slowly knocked, as if he was unsure about it.

Naruto opened the door slowly and was shocked to find Sasuke standing just outside of it. "Sasuke-teme! Is… something wrong…?" he asked cautiously.

"There's… something that someone else said that I need to ask you about…" Sasuke began nervously.

A little shocked, Naruto ushered him in and asked, "So, what… is this that you need to ask me about?"

"Do… you care about me?" Sasuke asked uncertainly. "Never mind. I should just go—" Sasuke interjected, turning to leave.

"Wait," Naruto commanded, grabbing Sasuke by the forearm. "You asked, so you might as well stay for the answer," Naruto explained. When Sasuke nodded and turned to face Naruto, he continued. "Yes, I care for you. A lot. You're my best friend… and the only one my age who knows my pain. So, of course I care for you," he said, slight exasperation evident in his voice.

"Really?" Sasuke choked out.

"Yeah…" Naruto whispered back.

Sasuke turned and stared at the boy, tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks…" he whispered before placing his head against Naruto's, tears silently falling.

Naruto tentatively reached his arms around the taller boy's back, making sure not to get so intimate that Sasuke would feel uncomfortable. Sasuke's arms circled around Naruto's waist, as he didn't have enough strength at the moment to lift them any higher.

"Sasuke… why don't you spend the night here?" Naruto offered.

Sasuke nodded in reply, not wanting to go back to his own home. Naruto led him to his bedroom before rubbing the back of his head. "My bed is large enough for us to share…" he finally decided. **(A/N: No, I don't remember how big his bed is. Let's pretend for a minute, if it isn't, that it's big enough for two people.)**

Sasuke nodded numbly before laying on the bed next to Naruto. "Hey… Naruto…?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Can… I… er, can you hold me while I sleep?" Sasuke asked, trying to refrain from using girly terms like cuddling or snuggling.

"Sure," Naruto replied before allowing Sasuke to sleep against his chest, his arms loosely around the Uchiha.

And that's the story of the brat turned teme turned normal.

**A/N: Strange one-shot and somewhat fairytale-like (about as fairytale-like ninjas get), but it's been in my mind for a while. Review, please!**


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